Just Noticed a New Background Image on SpaceX's Twitter (Mars Terraforming)
twitter.com/spacex
twitter.comPosted Oct 17, 2014, 8:49 AM UTC
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twitter.comThe high-res original is on Wikipedia under Terraforming Mars.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7f/MarsTransitionV.jpg
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The original creator of the image also has other terraformed planets, including Venus and the Moon. His talk page goes into some details about the software he used (mainly photoshop, but a few other tools too) in order to make these images as well.
In spite of being available under the GFDL, crediting the original author is also worthwhile. I have no idea if SpaceX has independently obtained copyright license for this image though.
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nice. I would like to know, how do they plan to keep the atmosphere there, not being blown away by solar wind
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That's only a concern over millions of years. Minimal stewardship of the atmosphere can replenish lost gas at thousands of times the rate of loss.
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u/EchoLogic posted a great article about how's is actually feasible to run superconducting wires around Mars, run 1 GW of electricity through them, and produce an artificial magnetic field for the planet that's about 10% the strength of Earth's:
http://www.reddit.com/r/spacex/comments/2ibndr/would_using_collapsible_geodesic_domes_for/cl0pb22
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With the intention being to radiation-shield the entire surface for exploration and habitation, not to keep the atmosphere in. Atmosphere retention is just a byproduct.
There are naturally occurring geomagnetic fields on Mars, which form magnetic umbrellas over large regions dotted all over the planet. Habitation could begin in one of these sheltered regions, and research taking place beyond their protection could employ mobile EMF generators to shelter the immediate area.
Even without mega-engineering like the encircling cables or a tinted soletta, by the time atmospheric stripping became problematic we'll either be extinct, or have the tech to liquefy Mars' core (by which point replenishing the atmosphere will be trivial, anyway).
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I think this needs to go in the FAQ. It's been answered a dozen times recently.
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Nearly every thread about Mars on any subreddit has that question. It's tiresome.
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Agreed. I'll add it in.
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This picture has been on their website for a while now; http://www.spacex.com/careers
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Yeah, I've seen it there before.
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Its a very cool picture.... :D
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[deleted]
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What's the time period required to accomplish this?
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Probably on the order of 200-1000 years, but it's hard to say, as over that sort of timeframe, technology will evolve an incredible amount.
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"We always overestimate the change that will occur in the next two years and underestimate the change that will occur in the next ten." - Bill Gates
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Or, in the case of Microsoft, over estimate what you can copy in two years, and underestimate what you can buy in ten. ;-)
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I thought the original quote was 20 and 100.
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I'm inclined to think that if and when we have the technology to terraform Mars, we probably won't bother.
We won't need it and it would probably be seen as both a waste of resources and the needless destruction of the Martian landscape.
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Somehow the poles of mars are completely above the freezing point of water in these pictures, so either when we're able to make ridiculously large orbiting mirrors or the sun reaches the red giant stage.
As for a human habitable surface most estimates say 100+ years.
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100+ years or when the sun is a red giant? What?
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Haha in the picture referenced in the post, there's no ice at the poles. I find it hard to believe that that could happen on mars until something as drastic as the sun increasing in size occurs because mars receives much less solar energy than earth and we still have pretty large ice caps and extremely cold temperatures at our poles.
Realistically, to have mars terraformed to the point where people could live without life support or much more than a thick jacket will probably take 100 ish years from when we start. Mars would still be pretty cold and have a lot of ice though.
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Very true, but maybe if we learn enough about climate and the gases in our atmosphere (and the atmospheres of other planets), we may be able to "manufacture" a climate on a more remote planet like Mars that traps far more heat energy from the Sun than the Earth does. I mean, if just a tiny amount of extra CO2 in the air can cause this amount of noticeable change in such a short space of time, then just think of the possibilities if we had the knowledge and technology to Terraform whole planets.
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They also changed their facebook cover photo to this earlier on in the day.
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Are they preparing for some announcement? :) Dragon in Orbit was there, Dragon V2 unveil, etc. so? :)
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I made a wallpaper. http://i.imgur.com/itzawCr.png
When someone does a better job at it, please let me know.